Northwest human rights crusader dies at 91

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It is impossible to overstate the contributions to the causes of social justice made by Richard Knight Taylor, 91, who died Oct. 14 of complications from age-related illnesses at KeystoneCare Home Health and Hospice in Wyndmoor.

He served as a field worker for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference civil rights organization in the 1960s and was a local organizer for the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's Poor People's campaign. Taylor founded the Fair Housing Council in 1959 and later started other faith-based and social service nonprofits. In the 1960s, Taylor marched with Dr. King.

“Dick was a person of great integrity,” said his wife Phyllis, who met her husband when they were involved in the civil rights movement. “He never backed away from injustice and always addressed it in a non-violent way.”

The Taylors were equally involved in numerous causes during their almost 62 years of marriage, 55 of which were spent living in Northwest Philadelphia, mostly in Mt. Airy. For the last 12 years, the couple lived at the Stapeley Retirement Home in Germantown, a diverse community that Phyllis Taylor calls a “wonderful place” with a “a real sense of community.”

Dr. Daniel Taylor, the Taylors’ son, described his father’s leadership as one approached with a “quiet focus,” and with unwavering dedication.

“His moral compass was unlike anyone else's I've ever met,” said Daniel Taylor, of Mt. Airy, a pediatrician at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. “When he saw injustice, he went all in to create systemic change but in an intelligent, thoughtful way. And he and my mom had a perfect partnership. They were always together mentally and in protests and in every other way. It was incredible to watch when I was growing up.”

I met Richard Knight Taylor and his wife more than 55 years ago while working as a volunteer with Amnesty International, writing many letters to the leaders of authoritarian countries, urging them to free political prisoners. It became immediately obvious that the Taylors were a force for good and that they were in it for the long haul. They just exuded love, selflessness and spirituality.

Taylor, who was born at Germantown Hospital into a family of Quakers, said in an earlier interview that he became a Catholic in the early 1980s because the church's "Christ-centered message" and teachings on social responsibility appealed to him. He said in 2005 that he was fearful of a large exodus of Catholics if significant changes were not made in the church.

Taylor, who participated in countless civil rights and peace demonstrations, traveled widely to countries including Nicaragua, South Africa, Mexico and the Soviet Union working with nonviolent movements in those countries to battle injustice and brutality. He taught classes on social justice and worked for nine years with the Philadelphia Archdiocesan Commission for World Peace and Justice. He produced videos and wrote countless books, articles, papers, manuals and pamphlets to publicize injustices in the U.S. and in countries he traveled to. The Swarthmore College Peace Collection is the official repository for the papers of Richard and Phyllis Taylor.

“One of the highlights of our lives was helping as members of Amnesty International to contribute to getting a female political prisoner out of prison in Argentina,” said Phyllis, who currently works with people who are incarcerated. “We were with her sister when we greeted her at the airport. We were all in tears.”

Phyllis Taylor emphasized that her family’s dedication to social justice did not interfere with their connection to each other.

“You do not have to give up your family to do social justice work,” Phyllis Taylor said. “It is important not to forget the people close to you. Dick was a deeply spiritual person and a man of honor.”

In addition to his wife and son, Taylor is survived by daughter, Deborah Minja Taylor Wagner, many other children and families that were welcomed into the Taylors' home for more than 50 years, several grandchildren, great-grandchildren and other relatives.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, Dec. 14, 1:30 p.m., at Germantown Friends Meeting, 47 W. Coulter St. in Germantown. Donations in Taylor's name may be made to Face to Face, 123 E. Price St., Phila., PA 19144; and Against Malaria Foundation, Citibank NA, Box 7247-6370, Phila., PA 19170.

Kristin Holmes contributed to this article. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com